


Life Is Beautiful

by Liza1031



Series: Harringrove One-Shots [146]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Billy's not a good dad, Comatose, Difficult childbirth, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hardships, Harrington-Hargrove Child, Harrington-Hargrove Family, Hateful doctors, Homophobia, Hospital, M/M, Medical Torture, Medical Trauma, Mpreg, Pregnant Steve Harrington, Struggling, labor, potential Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-29 01:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30148623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza1031/pseuds/Liza1031
Summary: Steve has a near death experience during childbirth.One-shot based on the song Life Is Beautiful by Vega4
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Harringrove One-Shots [146]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987054
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	Life Is Beautiful

**Idea given by: TheRealFujoshiFan**

Steve was laying back on the bed with his shirt raised and maternity pants lowered past his massive bump. Billy was with him as they were at their last baby appointment before the arrival of their little one.

“How’re you feeling otherwise, Steve?” Doctor Sawyer asks, squeezing the gel onto his belly.

“Good.” He sighs. “Just ready for her to be here.”

“I hear ya.” She smiles and turns on the machine before grabbing the transducer, pressing it against his skin. “Let’s see how you’re doing in here sweetie.”

All three of them were looking at the screen as the image of their baby appeared. She had grown so much since early in Steve’s pregnancy, she was definitely ready to come out soon.

“Baby girl looks great guys. She is head down so she flipped which is good, I’m sure you felt that at some point.”

“Oh yeah, she was like doing somersaults in there.” Steve tells her.

“She’s an active little girl then, huh?”

“So active, especially at night.” Billy confirms. “I feel her moving all night long so I can imagine how he must feel.” He adds, glancing down at Steve.

“Yeah it’s not fun.”

Doctor Sawyer laughs, continuing to twist the transducer along his bump. “Now I know you have both created a birth plan. Is that still effective?” She asks.

“Yes. I still want to have a natural birth.” He confirms.

“Perfect.” She nods and finishes up with the ultrasound. “Well everything’s looking good, it’s all up to her now whether or not she wants to come.” She says then shuts off the machine, handing him some paper towels.

“I’m due in about a week so hopefully she’ll come then.”

“I think she’ll come probably next week, or sooner. She’s in a good position and is traveling into your birth canal so you should be feeling the drop soon.” She explains. “But until then, it’s gonna be the waiting game for now.”

“Appears so.” Steve sighs and cleans himself off before sitting back up. “I’m so ready to not be pregnant anymore.”

“I know but you’re almost there, Steve. Just a little bit longer.”

Steve nods and is helped off the bed by his husband. They say their goodbyes to his OB and make their way back home.

At home, they have a bath together before watching rom-coms for the rest of the night.

**-One Week Later-**

It was the day after Steve’s due date and he had gone into labor.

On the way to the hospital, he had called Doctor Sawyer to tell her. Unfortunately, she was out of town due to a family emergency which meant she wasn’t going to be there to deliver his baby and gave him anxiety.

Doctor Sawyer had assured him he was going to be taken care of by one of her nurses and the on-call OB/GYN. Steve could only hope she was as helpful and supportive as they make her out to be.

She felt terrible that she had to be away from her patient and apologized over and over again that she wouldn’t be there. Steve understood, family was a main priority for everyone so it is understandable.

Billy held Steve’s hand the entire ride to the hospital, even when he was on the phone with their doctor telling him too that it was gonna be okay.

When they arrived at the hospital, Steve was checked as well as Billy. They were given their hospital bracelets and brought to a room.

Doctor Sawyer’s nurse was there and had introduced herself, assuring them that she was her right hand man and was going to take good care of him. He felt somewhat better knowing she was here specifically for him and also informed them that Doctor Sawyer had added her to his birth plan so if anything she’d be there. Steve felt a lot better when she had said that and knew he was in good hands.

Once Steve was settled, the on-call OB/GYN came in and she was not so very welcoming of Steve or Billy to be in her care.

She introduced herself as Doctor Margaret Jelsing and well, Steve did not feel comfortable having her as his doctor. She didn’t seem all too pleased to be helping a gay couple deliver their baby and Steve nor Billy we’re gonna let her take this moment away from them.

When she had left the room, Steve pressed the button for the nurse to come back. Jules had returned in the room, smiling at Steve.

“What can I do for you hun?” She asks.

“Is there any way we can request another doctor?” She asks. “I don’t feel comfortable with this Doctor Jelsing. She’s not all that accepting of me and my husband and I don’t want to welcome my baby in this type of environment.”

Jules had gone over and taken Steve’s hand in hers. “Honey, I wish I could say let’s do it but unfortunately we are understaffed and she’s the only OB we have today which is absurd but it happens.” She explains.

Steve frowned and let out a sigh of defeat before looking over at his husband. “Well, I guess let’s get our things and go back home and have her there because I am not having this doctor deliver my baby.”

“Steve, be rational here.” Billy advises and could see that his husband was upset and uncomfortable being there.

“I am being rational Billy! Our daughter is going to be welcomed into the world by that bigot bitch and I’m just supposed to be okay with that?! Absolutely not!”

“I understand your frustration, Steve. I-“

“No you don’t.” Steve scoffs, cutting Jules off. “I’m sorry but you have no idea what it’s like for us to be a couple and have a child together. You can’t even begin to understand what we’ve been through to get here…” He trails off as tears well in his brown eyes. “We’ve been wanting a baby for so long and now I’m not going to let that woman take away our happiness from welcoming her into the world.” He finishes with a heavy swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing along his neck.

Jules was quiet and kicked her lips because she knew he was right. They had worked so hard to be where they were and she couldn’t just let that be taken away from them.

“Steve, honey, I know you’re upset and you have every right to be. But, I promise you that I will take good care of you and we’ll try to keep her away as much as possible.”

“Wouldn’t that be breaking the rules?” Billy asks and she looks up at him.

“Not if you don’t tell on me.” She replies with a smirk and they both smile too. “I’ll provide you with as much comfort as I can so she won’t be around much, and when it comes time to deliver I’ll be right there with you both okay?”

“Okay.” Steve nods, wiping away his tears.

“I promise Steve, I’ll take good care of you sweetie. Both of you.” She tells him with a gentle hand squeeze.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” She smiles and feels Steve relax a bit. “I’ll be back in a few to see how you’re doing but until then would you like any more pillows?” She asks.

“Um, I’m good for now. I just want to get some rest while I can.”

“Sounds like a good idea. If you need me, just press that button and I’ll be here.”

He nods and watches as she walks out of their room.

Steve had placed the hand with his IV over his bump while the other one was gripping Billy’s fingers.

“You gonna be okay, babe?” Billy asks his husband.

“Yeah. Just promise you won’t leave me.”

“Never.” Billy says and gives Steve a chaste kiss before he goes to sit in the chair beside the bed.

**\---**

Jules was true to her word and had checked on Steve as often as she could and provided as much comfort as possible. She did her cervical cervical checks to see how far dilated he was and just making sure he was okay.

It’s been about six hours since they had gotten there and Jules was doing another cervical exam to check his dilation. She had pressed her fingers into his entrance and hummed to herself. “That’s odd.” She mutters.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” Steve asks, starting to panic.

“I believe so. I don’t think I’m feeling her head though.” She told him.

“But at our last appointment Doctor Sawyer had told us she was head down and descending into the birth canal.”

“I know. I’m gonna have to page for Doctor Jelsing to get her opinion on this because she may be breeched so let’s just see where this little girl is at.” Jules advises.

Steve took a deep breath because he did not want to deal with that doctor but knew he needed a doctor to tell him what was going on with his baby.

Jules paged for Doctor Jelsing and of course she came in with a puss on her face, obviously not wanting to be there.

“What seems to be the problem here, Nurse Jules?” She asks, not even for a second making eye contact with her patient.

“I believe the baby was flipped and is in the breeched position so I wanted to get your opinion on what you believe we should do.” Jules kindly explains and Doctor Jelsing gave a small eye roll.

“Don't you know what to do when a baby is breeched? I mean you are a nurse and have been one for what ten years now?” She asks and Jules was taken aback with how rude she was.

“Why yes but you’re his doctor and we’re required to discuss his options.”

“Very well.” Doctor Jelsing carries on and decides to do an ultrasound to confirm whether or not the baby was indeed breeched. “Can you bring your gown up for me please?” She asks with a sigh.

Steve nods and lifts his gown revealing his massive bump and covers his genitals with the blanket so she didn’t comment on how un-groomed he was, it has been a while since he was able to see down there but she was the type to judge.

Doctor Jelsing had gotten onto the ultrasound and nodded her head, confirming Jules’ suspicion. “So the baby is breeched, um, how far dilated was he?” She asks Jules.

“About five centimeters.”

“Okay so you’re about halfway there so what I suggest you do now is try to get her to flip then hopefully by then you’ll be ready to deliver.” She explained then finished the ultrasound, leaving the room within minutes.

Both Steve and Billy let go of the breath they were holding once she left and thanked Jules for cleaning him off and fixing him up again.

“So, is there any way I can get her to flip again?” He asks his nurse.

“You can try bouncing on the ball to get her to flip or walking around, that’s really it. I wish there was more but it’s up to her really.” She says and points at his bump.

“Well, I guess we’ll work with what we got.” He says while rubbing both hands along his covered bump.

“Alright, I’ll get you the ball and we’ll see how that goes.” She says and goes to it from the closet. “Just lightly bounce on it and I’ll come back in a bit to see how you’re doing.” She explains as she sets the ball down beside the bed.

“Great, thank you.” He tells her and holds out his hand for Billy as he’s helped to his feet.

Jules smiles at them before heading out.

Steve decided to remove his gown and threw on a pair of mesh underwear, laboring as bare as he could with some coverage. His pecs were swollen with milk and he had small tan and pink stretch marks along his thighs and belly but he didn’t care, he just wanted to be comfortable.

Billy helped him lower onto the ball and watched as his husband bounced and moved his hips in circles as he labored. Steve stayed focused and hardly spoke, just breathed through the pain, remembering that each breath was bringing him closer to meeting his baby.

**\---**

It’s been another several hours and the baby was still breeched.

“...She hasn’t flipped but you are fully dilated so we’re gonna have you start pushing.” Doctor Jelsing says, preparing herself for delivery.

“Um, b-but wouldn’t it be safer to have a cesarean? I mean I just want her to get here safely and be healthy and-”

“Yes but I think you’ll be able to handle pushing for a bit. She’s really low, so I don’t think it’ll be difficult.” She tells him, tying a suit on over her scrubs.

“Are you sure this is safe for Steve and our baby?” Billy asks as the room was filling with nurses while Jules was by his side, a concerned look evident on her face.

“I’m sure.” She tells him with a sly smirk. “I’ve been doing this for thirty years so I think I would know.”

“Okay, I was just asking.” Billy gave her an attitude back and while Steve found it amusing how his husband responded, Doctor Jelsing did not and ignored it.

Billy and Jules were at Steve’s sides as his legs were placed into stirrups and he had been put into the pushing position. He wasn’t ready to do this and again was not comfortable pushing if his baby was breeched but he was being forced to do this, so it’s do or die at this point.

Doctor Jelsing has Steve start pushing and he pushes for about forty minutes with no breaks. She keeps working him and urging him to not give up but it was difficult because it hurt like hell and he knew his baby wasn’t coming out because her position was making her severely stuck inside him.

After an hour of constant pushing, Steve was given an oxygen mask to get some good air in his lungs before going again. He was exhausted and didn’t want to keep going.

“Let’s have another big push, Steve. C’mon she’s so close.”

“Please no more.” He whined and rolled his head along the pillow, looking up at his husband. “Please don’t make me.”

Billy hated seeing Steve in such pain and agony. “Can’t you just perform a C-Section? I mean it’s clear that he’s exhausted and can’t push anymore.”

“Excuse me but I’m the doctor here and what I say goes.” She sternly declares. “Now Steve I want you to push! Stop messing around and let’s go!”

Steve groaned as he sat up and gave another push, no matter how hard it was for him to do so.

She forced him to give another which he did but stopped halfway feeling himself grow faint.

“Billy….B...S-S-Something's….I can…” Steve couldn’t form words and was going in and out of it.

“The baby and Steve are in distress, Doctor Jelsing! We need to get him to an OR stat!”

“Very well!”

They all worked fast and Steve was rushed into emergency surgery.

Of course, Billy wasn’t allowed in because the doctor had “said so”, even though he knew that was bullshit so he was waiting out in the hallway worried about his husband and their baby girl.

So there he was, after watching his husband struggle to birth their child, he was alone knowing one of them may or may not make it out of this alive.

**-Two Hours Later-**

Billy was sitting in a chair staring blankly at the wall in front of him counting the minutes and seconds that have passed since he last saw his husband. One hundred twenty minutes felt like months to him, years even.

He had stopped crying a while ago and was lost with his thoughts waiting for any news on his husband.

Another hour rolled by making it to three whole hours of waiting when a different doctor from Steve's operating room had come up, removing her cap.

“I’m looking for the family of Steve Harrington-Hargrove.” She says and Billy’s head turns towards her as he stands up.

“I’m h-his husband, Billy.” He tells her.

“Billy, I’m Doctor Shayna Oakland.” She tells him and shakes his head.

“H-H-How is..h-he? I-Is he ok-okay?” He asks, stumbling over his words.

She goes to answer but instead pulls him to the side, away from everyone else in the waiting room. “I have to admit, it’s not looking good. He has to be transferred to the ICU because he suffered from an amniotic fluid embolism which means that his amniotic fluid got into his bloodstream and cut off oxygen to his brain.” She explains. “We did lose him for a few minutes but he’s in critical condition and is in a coma right now.”

“Thank you.” He nods and wipes his fallen tears.

“W-When can I-I see him?”

“Um, let me just double check to see when he’ll be transferred and I’ll let you know.” She tells him.

Billy goes to say something but spots the doctor from before, Doctor Jelsing and just saw red.

“YOU!” He spat and ran to her, cornering her, knocking over a cart of supplies. “You’re the reason this happened to him you homophobic BITCH!” He screams at her and no one knows what to do. “My husband and my baby are in danger now because of you! You fucking cunt! How dare you!” He spit in her face and was being pulled away by another doctor as well as Steve’s nurse, Jules.

“Billy, come with me.” She tells him, pulling him away while Doctor Jelsing was appalled that she had just been treated like the piece of shit she was. Jules had brought him into a separate room, away from all the chaos and had given him some water. “Relax. I know you’re upset and heated right now but he wouldn’t want you to do this, okay?”

Billy nods and chugs at the water, huffing when he was done.

“I’ve sent a personal message to Doctor Sawyer and she’s on her way back as we speak.” She tells him and he goes to sit, holding his head in his hands. “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself hun.” She adds and rubs his back. “You still have a little girl waiting to meet you.”

“How is she?” He asks as more tears were in his eyes.  
“She’s healthy and is being checked by a pediatrician so you’ll be able to see her later but she’s beautiful, Billy.”

He nods and takes some time before he calms down then decides to call his pseudo dad, Jim Hopper, asking if they can come down to the hospital because he needed someone there with him. After talking with Hop, Billy called his sister.

Max had arrived at the hospital within two and a half hours of Billy’s phone call, having broken possibly every driving law known to man to get from Hawkins to Chicago.

As soon as Billy saw the familiar face of his sister, he collapsed in her arms and cried into her hair that he didn’t know what to do and or think, he just felt so lost without Steve. Max just comforted her brother as best as she could, not even able to understand what he was going through. All she could do was be there for him and let him know that he wasn’t doing this alone.

Another hour went by and Billy was finally able to see Steve.

“I’m afraid only one person is allowed.” Doctor Oakland says looking between the two of them.

“You go Billy.” Max says, nodding her head towards the doctor. “Go see your husband.” She tells him.

Billy gives his sister a hug then follows Doctor Oakland to Steve’s room in the ICU.

When Billy had stepped into the closed on room, the tears that were already in his eyes had streamed down his cheeks at the sight before him. There was his beautiful husband laying in bed with a breathing tube down his throat, looking awful.

Doctor Oakland had left to give Billy some privacy with his husband.

Billy carefully approaches him and presses a kiss to his forehead while tangling his fingers in his thick hair. “I’m here baby.” He whispers and grabs a few of Steve’s fingers, leaving them on the bed as he pressed another kiss to him. “You’re gonna get through this, love, okay? I’m so sorry this happened to you.” He sniffles as the monitors beeps every few seconds and Steve just lay there, lifeless. “I love you so much.” He swallows past the hard lump in the back of his throat, his eyes firm on his husband. “I’m gonna make sure she pays for what she did to you. I’m not going to let her get away with this.”

Billy was always true to his word.

That doctor was going to pay for what she caused to happen to him and his family. She wasn’t going to get away with this and Billy was going to be sure of that.

He stayed by his husband’s side for a while, never letting go of his hand just staring at him as every single memory they ever made flashed through his mind. They had been together for close to ten years now and were more than ready to have this child, then this happened and now Steve was fighting for his life.

Billy couldn’t help but feel guilty for letting this happen to his husband. Steve would never hurt anyone but would fight like hell to protect the ones he loved, even if he got his ass kicked by his husband back in high school, he forgave him and moved on. Now it was Billy’s turn to help his husband fight to win this battle.

After spending a bit of time with his husband, Billy had gone down to the nursery to see his daughter. The nurses that were working there had directed him to a plastic bassinet that had a card slot which read, Baby Girl Harrington-Hargrove, with her weight, height, and time of birth written on it as well.

The nurse had picked her up and gave her to her father.

Billy had his daughter and got to look at her for the first time and couldn’t help but cry. He was already madly in love with this being but knowing she may never know her mother broke his heart.

“Hi babe.” He whispers and is able to go sit with her in the rocking chair that they had in the nursery. “I’m your daddy.” She was blinking at him, letting him know that she was listening. “Oh love, I’m gonna take care of you while mommy’s getting better, okay? I know you want him here with you, I do too but for now it’s gonna be me so I hope that’s okay?” She coos and Billy feels warmth bubble in his belly. “I’m sorry mommy’s not here to see you yet but he’s fighting hard to be with you. We love you so much, baby girl.”

Having this time with his baby girl was everything to Billy. He was able to hold her and talk to her and get to know her, even though she was still an itty bitty thing, she was so incredible to him and knew that it was up to him to help Steve fight not only for him but for her.

“You know, Mister Harrington-Hargrove sh-”

“Please call me Billy.” He says to the nurse.

“Very well, Billy.” She smiles and continues with what she was going to say. “As I was saying, she still needs a name.” She says.

Billy doesn’t answer at first and just shakes his head. “No, not without him.” He swallows and stares back down at his baby girl. “I-It doesn’t feel right doing this without my husband.”

“I understand, sir. If you do decide to do it…”

Billy zones out as she continues speaking, looking down at his baby girl. She was staring up at him with gigantic blue eyes almost telling him who she was and it worked. He had looked back up and just as the nurse was going to walk away he stopped her, “Delilah Rosaline.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Her name. He wanted her name to be Delilah Rosaline.” He tells her.

She smiles. “Beautiful.” She then walks away leaving Billy to spend some more time with his girl before returning to Steve’s room.

**-Next Day-**

Billy slowly woke up from where he stayed for most of the night in the chair beside Steve’s bed. His neck was stiff and his body was sore from the awkward sleeping position but he’d rather this than be away from his husband.

He stretched and yawned, several bones cracking as he does so before he sits there and lets the morning sun sink it from the window to the far side of the room.

He had pulled his phone out from his pocket and saw that he had several texts from Max and missed calls from Hopper asking how Steve’s doing and if they needed anything.

Billy responds to them and a few minutes later, Doctor Sawyer had come in, much to Billy’s surprise.

“I got here as soon as I could.” She told him as he got up and they embraced each other in a warm hug. “How’re you? Are you okay?”

“No.” He flat out tells her.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, my little brother broke his leg playing hockey.”

“Oh my. Is he gonna be okay?” Billy asks.

“He’ll be fine.” She says, waving it off.

Billy just nods and can’t find it in himself to smile. She then grabs hold of his hand, looking into his eyes seeing how upset he was and sighs. “Steve’s strong. He’s gonna get through this.” She tells him with confidence then goes over to his chart to find out herself what happened during surgery.

She had gone through it with her eyebrows furrowed, absolutely disgusted with how her patient was treated while she was away. She could not believe that one of her colleagues put Steve in such a state and that now they had to deal with the consequence of possibly losing his life.

“So, I want you to tell me everything that happened.” She says to Billy as she pulls out a notepad and pen ready to take notes.

Billy had explained to her all that went down from the moment they set foot in the hospital to now. He obviously couldn’t tell her about the surgery because he wasn’t there but was sure to let her know how he felt about that doctor and what he wanted to do with her, which Doctor Sawyer kindly left out of her notes so that her patient’s husband wasn’t going to face getting arrested.

By the end of it, she had all that she needed and advised Billy that she was going to board with this because that doctor put her patient’s life at risk and he one hundred percent supported her decision.

So that was it. Steve was fighting for his life all because that stupid doctor was homophobic and prejudice against them.

Billy had been splitting his time between being with his husband and being with his daughter who was discharged by the end of the week to go home. He was torn between what he should do because he didn’t want to leave Steve but he also had a baby to raise.

Of course he was going to go home with her but he still wanted to be with his husband as much as possible.

Billy had to deal with having the baby home while Steve was still at the hospital.  
The first few days home with the baby were hell because he didn’t sleep or eat and just tended to her. Joyce, Hopper, and Max had all temporarily moved into Steve and Billy’s place because they knew he was going to need help and weren’t just going to let him fend for himself.

The fourth day home, Billy was losing his mind. He was feeding Delilah milk from what was donated by other mothers at the hospital because Billy knew Steve wanted to be breastfed and have breast milk for the few months so Billy wasn’t going to disrespect his wishes.

Joyce hated watching the poor kid struggle so she decided to step in and take matters into her own hands.

“Billy, honey, gimme the baby.” She says and takes Delilah from her daddy, bouncing her in her arms, shushing her. “Why don’t you go take a shower and get in a nap. When’s the last time you slept?”

“I got a whole fifteen minutes this morning.” He says.

“Yeah well you need more than that. I’ll take care of the baby, you go take care of yourself for a little while okay?” Billy huffs not wanting to listen to her. “Look, I know you’re frustrated and feel stuck right now but we’re all here to help you so take advantage of that, I’ll keep an eye on the baby, Nancy’s with Steve at the hospital and promised to call if anything.”

Hearing that she was with his husband made him feel somewhat better, but not completely jumping for joy.

Billy knew he needed to be strong for his daughter so he decided to take a shower and get some rest. He was having a hard time being away from Steve, but being with his daughter was as good a distraction as any.

Later that night when he was putting her to sleep, he had laid her in his bed and was rubbing a hand round her tummy as she slowly drifted off to sleep. He was staring at her in such awe that she was even real and sighed through his nostrils.

“Oh baby girl, what am I gonna do?” He asks her then presses a kiss to her cheek and she was off to sleep in a blissful slumber.

**-Two Months Later-**

Steve was still in the ICU and Billy hasn’t been a very good daddy to his daughter. He hardly ever eats or sleeps and has been at Steve’s side 24/7 because he was impatiently waiting for him to wake up. He’s simply been neglecting his daughter in hopes that Steve will wake up soon, not wanting to miss it for a second.

Billy was once again at the hospital and was surprised to see Joyce and Hopper had come to see him. The nurse informed him that he had some visitors and since only one visitor was allowed, he had to step out while Joyce had gone in.

When he saw the two of them standing there, Joyce awkwardly made her way to Steve’s room while Hopper waved Billy over towards him.

“C’mon, we’re gonna have a little chat.” He says and Billy follows him out of the ICU, all the way outside to one of the benches.

Once the two of them had settled on the bench, Hopper lit a cigarette and offered one to Billy who declined, cutting right to the chase.

“Why are we out here? I should be inside with Steve.”

“I know.” Hopper says, going to light his cigarette. “We’re out here because you need some fresh air. You’ve been here way too long, it’s not good for you, kid.”

Billy scoffs with a chuckle as he shook his head. “You came all the way here to bring me outside and breathe?”

Hopper glances at Billy and takes another drag of his cigarette then blows out the smoke. “Billy, I came here today to tell you to get your shit together and start acting like a father.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Hopper states. “You need to be strong for your daughter who’s noticed that you’re not home anymore. She misses you Billy and she needs you just as much as you need her, you may not know it but you need her right now and you’re not being there for her.”

Billy was silent as he thought about his little girl and her little face, how sad it must be knowing her daddy would much rather be away from her then spending time with her.

“She needs one of her parents there, Billy, and I know it’s hard and I know you’re struggling but you have to make do with it because that’s what Steve would’ve wanted and you know it.”

Hopper was right.

Billy sat there as all this guilt and sorrow flooded into his system and before he knew it, he was sobbing like a baby into the older man’s arms. He fucked up and felt like such a failure as a father and a husband.

Hopper lets Billy cry in his embrace and eventually drives him home where he showers and eats a real meal for the first time in like three weeks.

Once Billy was feeling like a human again, he had gotten Delilah from her bassinet and kissed her face before holding her against his chest and sitting in the rocking chair that was in her nursery. He rocks with his daughter for a while, stroking her hair, kissing her head every few minutes.

After a while, he began to speak and apologized to his baby. “Delilah, sweet girl, I’m so sorry for not being a good daddy and not being here for you when you needed me.” He tells her and she lightly presses a weak fist to his chest, whimpering as he speaks. “It’s just...it’s hard and I’m doing the best I can but I haven't been doing it for her and hate myself for it….I promise I’m going to try harder okay?” He looked down at her and she was blinking, staring off into the distance. “I love you and your mommy so much. I don’t know what I’d do without either of you.”

For the rest of the evening, Billy had Delilah and didn’t put her down for a second, well only if he needed to use the bathroom but he wanted her to know how much he loved her and cared for her and wasn’t going to let this get in between his relationship with his daughter.

**-Two Weeks Later-**

Billy was doing somewhat better, he’s been going back and forth between the hospital and being home with his daughter who has grown so much in the last two weeks and two months she’s been home.

Things seemed to be going somewhat okay, however Doctor Sawyer and Doctor Oakland were getting worried about Steve.

The two of them had gone into his room and Billy knew something was up.

“Billy, we, uh, well Doctor Oakland will tell you.” Doctor Sawyer says and the neurosurgeon had nodded in agreement.

“There have been no signs of Steve recovering from this. He hasn’t exactly been responding to the tests we’ve been running on him and he-”

“What are you trying to say?” Billy asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“With as long as it’s been, we are here to bring up the possibility of taking him off life support.”

“No!”

“Billy, please just hear us out.”

“NO!” He barks. “He’s gonna wake up! I know it! He…” Billy goes over and stands next to his husband staring down at him with tear filled eyes. “....He's gonna get through this.” He tells them while assuring himself as well.

“Billy, I understand this is a very hard decision but if he’s not responding to anything then there’s not much else we can do. His brain waves aren’t as active as we’d like making it hard for us to continue running the same tests on him.”

“But...but, he just had a baby” Billy whispers, his eyes glued to his husband’s body. “He was supposed to have our baby girl and we were supposed to go home together and live this life we always dreamed of and if we….if I do this to them then I’d be letting him down.”

Both Doctor Sawyer and Doctor Oakland share a look between each other before looking back to Billy.

“We’ll leave you to decide and will be back later.” Doctor Oakland says as she places her hand on his shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze before leaving with Doctor Sawyer.

When Billy’s alone with Steve again, he cries at his bedside and takes hold of his hand, brushing his thumb along Steve’s pale knuckles.

“Is this what it’s come to?” He asks his comatose husband, not getting an answer. “You have to wake up Steve. We have a daughter named Delilah.” He tells him and smiles thinking about her and how amazing she was. “I named her for you because I knew that was what you wanted to name her and she looks like a Delilah, Delilah Rosaline Harrington-Hargrove.”

Billy swallows as his tears fall down his cheeks, still talking to his husband.

“She needs her mommy right now more than ever because I can’t do this anymore….I can’t….” He trails off and tries to find the right words to say. “I can’t be in two places at once b-because I love you both too much for anything to happen to either of you and it’s so hard!” He cries, sobbing.

“....I can’t do it anymore Steve...Come back to me….I-I need you to come back to me.” Billy cries and lays his head over his husband’s chest feeling his heart slowly beat against his ear.

Just then, Steve’s finger moves very slightly and he notices.

Billy picks his head up and loses his breath as Steve suddenly comes back to life.

He reaches his hand out and weakly touches Billy’s face.

Billy gasps and rises to his feet, calling in a nurse while he keeps watching Steve slowly wake up.

The nurse runs in and pages for Doctor Oakland to come in as well. She checks on Steve and they were relieved to see that he woke up.

She removes the breathing tube from his mouth and he had weakly smiled at his husband with those beautiful doe eyes of his. “......I’m….here.” He murmurs very quietly.

She asks Steve several questions and waits until he’s fully awake to tell him what happened.

Doctor Sawyer was called in too and rushed to the hospital right away to see him, happy he was awake as well.

Once Steve had stabilized and was responding well to what they were doing to him, Doctor Oakland and Doctor Sawyer had stayed in the room explaining to him all that happened.

“You were rushed into emergency surgery due to both you and your baby being put in distress after having to take part in a strenuous delivery.” Doctor Oakland says and he nods his head, listening to her. “During your surgery we found out that you suffered from an amniotic fluid embolism which means that your amniotic fluid got into your bloodstream and cut off oxygen to your brain.”

“Wow.” Steve was in disbelief that this happened to him and had tears in his eyes hearing how awful it was. Billy squeezed his hand as she went on telling him everything else.

“You were comatose for nearly three months and I’m going to be honest with you, we were starting to lose hope but you proved us all wrong and we’re so glad that you’re awake and doing better.”

“T-Thank you.” He manages in a hushed tone.

“I am here to share some good news with both of you. The doctor who was tending to you has been fired and stripped of her medical license so we want to thank you, both of you for fighting against this and helping me bring it to the board's attention or else they would’ve never known.”

Both Steve and Billy were happy to be here and the doctors were glad he was awake and responsive.

“Now I’m sure you’re itching to get out of here and see that baby girl of yours, however, I want to keep you here for a few more days for observations but you should be set to go home sometime early next week.

Again, “Thank you.” Was all he could say to these two wonderful women who had been nothing but a huge help not only to him but his family.

They were left alone again and all Billy could do was stare into his husband’s eyes, taking in that he was awake and alive for that matter.

Steve was smiling at Billy and Billy was smiling at Steve, much like how they were on their first real date. They were both blushing and grinning like madmen being in each other's presence.

After a bit, Billy had decided to call Joyce to and share the news with her so she decided to bring Delilah down to properly meet her mommy.

Steve had no idea she was coming so he wasn’t expecting to see her.

When Joyce had arrived, she called Billy to let him know she was outside the room. He had excused himself from his husband and went to go retrieve their baby.

He took the baby from her carrier and grabbed her blanket as well and carried her into the room to meet her mommy.

As soon as Billy came into view, Steve gasped and covered his mouth with his hands, beginning to cry.

“There’s someone who’s been waiting to meet you.” Billy says and kisses the baby’s cheek before handing her to Steve.

He takes her into his arms and can’t barely even see her through the tears in her eyes. “...Hi, ba-baby girl.” He says then brings her up so he could kiss her head. He presses his lips to the crown of her head and inhales her sweet baby scent. “I love you...so much.”

He had laid her on his chest and she molded her little body to him, already recognizing that he was her mommy.

“This is our daughter, Delilah Rosaline Harrington-Hargrove.”

Steve quietly gasped again as Billy introduced her to him. “Y-You used th-the name.”

“It only felt right.” Billy tells him and smiles down at their baby girl. “Plus, it fits her well.” He adds then goes in for a kiss.

Steve nods when Billy pulls away and closes his eyes as tears seep through his long lashes, taking in the moment with his husband and daughter as he’s longed to have this and now he finally does.

“...I love you.” He mutters to his husband, through quiet whimpers.

“I love you too.” Billy replies and sits next to the bed, staring fondly at his two loves going back to being the little family they always dreamt of.

**-One Year Later-**

Steve was healthy as ever and has been enjoying being a mommy to his ray of sunshine, Delilah.

It has been one crazy year but the family made it through and just celebrated their daughter’s first birthday together.

They had a small party for her at their house and now everyone was gone so it was just the three of them sitting outside on the hammock, looking up at the night sky.

Steve held Delilah and rubbed her back while she slept on him and Billy had his arm around his husband protectively.

“You know, I didn’t think you’d make it to see her turn one.” Billy says while they were star gazing. “But you did and I’ve never seen anyone as strong or as brave as you, proving all odds and becoming a better person in the end.”

“Billy.” Steve chokes back his sobs and feels Billy’s arm tighten around him.

“It’s true.” Billy adds and wipes his own tears away before smiling over at Steve. “You get stronger everyday and I could not have been any prouder of you.”

Steve thickly swallows at his husband’s meaningful words. “Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn’t for you, so thank you.”

Billy grins and leans over, giving his husband a well deserved kiss while swaying on the hammock and watching the stars for the rest of the night with their girl in his arms.


End file.
